“Edward McFadden, the carpenter who built and carved this immaculate piece, lived in Arran in the 14th Century,” Purdue informed her. Charles gave the revelation a nod of acknowledgement as he polished the brass dragon bowl Purdue received as a gift from a Mongolian business partner.
“My, that is old,” Lillian conceded. “And this is why Dr. Gould will envy you?”
“I certainly hope so,” he said. “It was inspired by the Round Table of lore.”
“King Arthur’s Round Table, sir?” Charles finally asked.
“Correct!” Purdue boasted. “For many years, historians thought that it was in fact the Round Table that French poet Maistre Wace wrote of in 1155. Of course, it was disputed, what with Arthur being a fictional character, but still, an antique treasure in its own right.”
“Lovely!” Lillian smiled. “And when will it be arriving?”
Purdue looked at his watch. “Should have been here already, actually. Charles, will you arrange for the other furniture to be carried in so long, please. I shall give Ava a call and find out what is keeping them.”
“Yes, sir,” Charles answered, and proceeded to round up his people.
Purdue got no answer from Ava’s cell phone on the first few tries, but finally she picked up, sounding a bit rushed. “David, I’m sorry. We will be there momentarily, I promise. Had some trouble loading the goods due to a last minute shuffle in movers.”
“What is your ETA then?” he asked. “Will you be coming with?”
“Of course,” she said. “I oversee all of our deliveries personally.”
“Now that is good service,” Purdue flirted, looking forward to the beautiful woman’s presence. It had been days since the auction where he purchased all the items her company had up for sale, so he was anxious to meet her again.
“See you in fifteen!” she sang.
As soon as Purdue hanged up the call, his phone rang. Caller ID revealed the caller. “Wow, two pretty ladies in the stretch of a minute,” he remarked to himself. “Hello Nina! I was just talking about you.”
“Dare I ask?” she jested.
“Rather not. To what do I owe this honor?” he inquired.
“I was invited by a Glasgow school to participate in their history week, right?” she started.
“Mazel tov,” he replied.
“Listen! Let me finish,” she snapped a little. “I cannot talk for long. At show and tell, a boy brought in a scabbard that looked old. I mean old as fuck. You know, authentically antique.”
“Okay?” he said, nodding as she spoke.
Nina paused and then whispered, “I saw something incredible happen today. While wearing this scabbard, the boy was struck by lightning, Purdue.”
“Oh my God!” Purdue reacted. “Is he alive?”
“That is the thing,” she said seriously. “He walked away from it as if he took a piss. Like… nothing. Nothing. He practically came off it completely unscathed!”
“Unbelievable!” Purdue agreed.
“I am sending you pictures of the scabbard. Please have a look and tell me what you think. You dabble in ancient artifacts, so I figured you would be able to help me find out more about this thing. The boy says his grandfather has never had it appraised, so I have no idea what the deal is with this scabbard, but I know that it had something to do with that child not getting fried today.”
“Maybe it conducted the current away from him,” Purdue speculated.
“Purdue, he was standing in the rain in a puddle of water! I don’t care what kind of conduction that sheath had, there was no way he would not have been killed, or at least seriously injured.”
The artifact was not normally something Purdue would be interested in, but the way in which Nina related the fascinating science anomaly behind the incident hooked him. “That is absolutely intriguing, Nina. I am just taking care of some business and then I will have a look at your pictures. Can I let you know tomorrow?”
“Aye, thanks Purdue,” she said, sounding relieved over the veins of worry underneath. “As soon as you can, please. My stint in Glasgow runs out tomorrow evening, and then I will be back in Oban.”
“Oh, about that,” he quickly interjected. “Before you go back home, would you mind coming over to Wrichtishousis for a few drinks?”
Nina took a moment. “Um, sure, of course.”
“Then we can discuss your scabbard in more detail, perhaps,” Purdue applied the chum. In the background, Charles unintentionally eavesdropped. Shaking his head, he cracked a rare smile at his employer’s juvenile thrill.
13
Who’s Your Guinevere?
A knock at the door prompted Purdue to say goodbye to Nina. Charles went to open the tall double doors and announced that London Bridge Collectables had arrived with the goods Purdue had purchased.
“Excellent,” Purdue smiled. He slipped his phone into his pocket, feeling it vibrate as Nina’s photo messages came through. He made a mental note not to forget to look at them as soon as he had enjoyed the company of Ava Somerset.
Two men brought in the first armoire from China and took direction from Charles. She stood behind them on the steps, gawking at the black marble posts that hugged the massive old manor’s main entrance. Her silver hair looked alive in the smooth cold wind that lapped up against the stairs, playing with the corners of her coattails.
“Welcome to my abode, dear lady,” he hailed her.
“Oh my God, David, this place is amazing,” she said in astonishment. “I thought the gardens were extravagant, but this! Look at the detail on the architectural features.”
“That is just the outside. I think you will find the inside far more impressive, my dear,” he replied, taking her hand to lead her inside. The gorgeous woman could not stop staring at everything, enraptured by the beauty and grandeur of the historical old house. Like a child, she slowly twirled as she examined the motifs of the ceilings and the collections of original paintings adorning the small enclosures leading to other parts of the ground floor.
“You have a beautiful home, David. I swear, it would take me a week just to look at everything you have in here,” she raved in admiration. “There are myriads of pieces here that I have only seen in books or read about in old documents! It is unbelievable, truly!”
“Be careful or Mr. Purdue might think you are casing the joint,” a man from the group of movers said. He was not dressed in overalls, like the others, so Purdue presumed he was in charge. Ava slapped him on the arm.
“Shut it, you mongrel,” she laughed. With her hand in his, she turned to Purdue to introduce them. “David, this insensitive animal is my brother and business partner, Bernard.”
“My apologies,” Bernard told Purdue. “I have a dark sense of humor.”
“All in order,” Purdue answered jovially. “For a moment I feared that the lovely Ava was married. That would have been the true horror.”
The three laughed awkwardly under the gaze of the butler. Charles had learned from Purdue’s past mistakes and he often wished that Purdue would do the same. So many strangers came and went in this house, but most of them left marks, both on the house and on its master. Again, Purdue had fallen for a beautiful woman he knew nothing about and blindly bought new acquisitions just to appease her. At least the belongings were an investment and it usually stayed far longer than the women Purdue engaged.
‘Sometimes I wish Mr. Cleave would relinquish Dr. Gould and let David have her once and for all. She is the only woman worthy of his money, his time and his efforts. These gold diggers and opportunists make me sick,’ he pondered as he watched them use their senseless quips to forge trouble.
At last, the table Purdue had been waiting for came through the door.